Deb Fischer of Nebraska wins her third term in the U.S. Senate, defeating challenger Dan Osborn

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Republican Deb Fischer of Nebraska won re-election to a third term in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, defeating challenger Dan Osborn, a former union leader and military veteran who gained ground during the race by rejected the candidacy of both major parties as an independent.

Fischer won it previous elections by a large margin in the conservative state. But she faced her biggest challenge yet in Osborn, a working-class industrial mechanic and veteran of the U.S. Navy and Nebraska Army National Guard, who outspent Fischer by more than $1 million.

Political action committees and advocacy groups also poured nearly $29 million into the race, according to FEC filings. Nearly $20 million of the money went to Osborn.

In her victory speech, Fischer took issue with the money she said “out-of-state Democrats spent to buy a Nebraska Senate seat.”

“They wasted their money,” she said. “As it turns out, Nebraskans still vote for candidates who share their values, no matter how much the media and Democrats want them to.”

The close race was new territory for Fischer in a state where Republicans hold every statewide office. Fischer not only had to avoid criticism from her challenger, but also from her own party. The state's GOP, whose leadership was taken over by supporters of former President Donald Trump, endorsed all five Republicans representing Nebraska in Congress, including Fischer, as primary challengers.

A large part of Osborn's appeal came from his blue-collar background. He made a name for himself in 2021 by successfully leading a strike at the Kellogg's grain plant in Omaha as part of a nationwide strike at four factories to win higher wages and other benefits for about 1,400 workers after the company reported a year of rising revenue recorded.

In his political ads, Osborn portrayed Fischer as part of an elite group of wealthy self-dealers focused on the needs of corporate interests and lobbyists.

Fischer countered in the final weeks of the race with a barrage of television ads portraying Osborn as a liberal who would caucus with Democrats. She also warned that an Osborn victory could cost Republicans control of the Senate.

She bolstered support among the Republican base by endorsing Trump despite calling for him to abandon the 2016 race afterward Audio recordings of Trump's boasts emerged about kissing, groping and attempting to have sex with women who were not his wife while waiting for a soap opera cameo in 2005. Despite her past problems, Trump supported Fischer's re-election, which she touted in her campaign ads.